“Yho! I don’t know when you left yesterday at the pool, but it got lit later during the day when they were about to close,” Bokang said as they entered the mall.

“Yeah, I left pretty early.” Thapelo didn’t want this conversation to go back to yesterday, because Bokang would ask him again why he had left Tsholo there alone, and he wasn’t ready to answer that.

“Remember next week Friday Kgotso is hosting a street bash, the biggest we ever have in our street. You will be there, right?” Bokang asked him.

“Yeah, of course, I wouldn’t miss it for anything.”

“This time I will make sure you don’t leave early because of some excuses. I will keep you here by my side. You are not getting out of my sight!” Bokang ended his lecture with that horrendous laughter of his.

They bought the cooking oil and paid at the checkout counter.

Walking out, Bokang stopped Thapelo in his tracks.

“What is it?” Thapelo asked in confusion.

“Boy, it’s too early to just leave the mall like this. Let’s do something fun while we are here.” He wore that ridiculous smile of his, the one that was always followed by mischief.

“What do you mean? Bokang, it’s too hot for your silly games,” Thapelo complained, but Bokang was not taking it.

“Boy, let’s approach a few girls and take their numbers, maybe we can take them to the street bash.” Bokang nudged Thapelo to the other side of the mall, where a lot of people were sitting down, glued to their phones, clearly connected to the free Wi-Fi.

“Bokang, I’m really not in the mood for this. You said I should accompany you to buy fish-oil, then we leave. You never said anything about approaching girls.”

“I never said anything because I knew you would do this.”

“Do what?”

“Don’t act surprised. I knew you would have a lot of excuses. You are not getting out of this. You approach a couple of girls, you get their numbers, and I do, too, then we leave, deal? Plus, you owe me for ditching Tsholo like that yesterday.”

Thapelo was ready to object when Bokang shoved him towards some girl in a tight skirt, who just passed them,

“Go!” Bokang shouted at him.
Thapelo wished he could just run away or better yet, just vanish. He started sweating, and his heart beat faster than normal. He couldn’t stop himself from walking towards this light skinned girl. He turned back at Bokang. A big part of him wished Bokang wasn’t looking so he could come back and lie to him and say he talked to the girl. But no, Bokang was standing right where he left him, looking at everything.

“Hello, baby girl,” Thapelo greeted the girl softly.

“Unjanie, bhutie?” Her voice was low, so that her response sounded like a whisper.

“I’m good, I’m good, I hope you are also good,” Thapelo couldn’t hear the words he was saying because of how loud his heart was beating inside his chest.

“I’m good, but I’m in a hurry.” She didn’t slow her stride.

“Ok…um…let me not hold you up then—fede,” He slowed down and the girl seemed to be in disbelief that he’d just quit like that.

“Ok,” she said, and hurried along, getting lost in the crowd.

Thapelo returned to Bokang.

As soon as Bokang saw him, he said, “Haibo! So fast? You are the man!” and punched him lightly on the chest.

“Yeah, eish. She said she was in a hurry, so I didn’t want to hold her up,” Thapelo said, in a tone filled with humiliation.

“She was in a hurry? But you managed to get the number, right?” Bokang asked him seriously.

“Number?” Thapelo asked himself, more than he did Bokang.

“Yes, number—her phone number,” Bokang chuckled.

“Um…I didn’t get it. We had no time to share them because as I have told you, she was in a hurry.”

“What? So you just let her go without getting her number? What about her name? Did you at least get it?”

“Her name?” Thapelo’s face was flushed. He didn’t like how Bokang was looking at him. He was looking at him like he was some silly boy who forgot the items he was sent to buy at the shop by his uncle, and came back with the wrong ones.

“Ah! You are disappointing me, Thiplo.”

“I told you she said she was in a hurry!” He was getting angry now.

“That’s what they all say. But never mind, there is another one,” Bokang turned him backwards to see a girl in a skin jean approaching.

“Bokang, I can’t…”

“Yes, you can. And don’t forget to get her name and number this time.” Bokang pushed him forward.

“Hello, excuse me,” Thapelo said, as soon as he reached the girl.

“Hi,” she just said, in a voice that was a little bit hoarse.

“I was hoping I could talk to you for a moment?”

“Talk to me? Talk to about what?” She stopped and faced him.

“Um…I…I was hoping you could give me your number,” Thapelo went straight to the point.

“My number? For what? I don’t know you!” She raised her voice a little bit high, and Thapelo could swear people who were walking by could hear her.

“I’m Thapelo, but you can call me Thiplo, and you are?”

“That’s none of your business!” she shouted.

While Thapelo turned left and right to see if anyone heard that and if they were watching, she said, “is that why you stopped me? So you could ask me my number and tell me your name even though I didn’t ask for it?”

“No, it’s just…” Thapelo tried to keep his voice down, thinking she would do the same, but she didn’t.

“Bhuti, don’t waste my time! I didn’t come for you here at the mall. Don’t stop me and ask me nonsense.”

“I didn’t mean—”

“You didn’t mean what? To waste my time or ask me nonsense?”

“Eish! Sorry.” He took a few steps back.

The girl clicked her tongue in annoyance and left Thapelo standing there.

Thapelo looked around. Passersby were laughing at him. His face flushed with embarrassment. His eyes quickly searched for Bokang. There he was, laughing too. Thapelo’s eyes became teary, and he started running to the gate.
Tell us: What lessons about talking to girls might Thapelo learn if he read a few more feminist think pieces?